How we pick substitutes

Best match means the swap is close enough that any drinker would struggle to tell the difference. Good match means the drink will still be good but noticeably different — use it when you don't mind the variation. Works in a pinch means the substitute is drinkable but the cocktail loses something — fine for a casual round, not for a signature drink.

Ratios assume the cocktail's other proportions stay the same. Where a substitute is sweeter or stronger, we note how much to scale back.

Don't see your ingredient?

We cover the 58 most-substituted cocktail spirits and liqueurs. If you need something rare (e.g. velvet falernum, suze, allspice dram, cr\u00e8me de banane), drop it in a Blinner recipe and we'll add it to the table. The tool grows with what people actually look up.